B O O K RE V IE W S 313

than elsewhere. What いrim gives us is an overall survey of Ojibway shamanic pheno­
menology, centered around the headings cosmology, tribal sanction, ritual enactment
and trance experience. There is also a chapter on the historical background of O jib­
way shamanism, but it suffers from some inadequacies re Ojibway prehistory, some
simple statements (“ the Algonquian language is common to all Ojibway bands ” )，
and unsupported hypotheses about a connection between Siberian and ancient O jib­
way shamanism founded on the occurrence of “ horned shamans ” on rock-drawings
in both areas.
The phenomenological chapters give a good insight into the many segments of
Ojibway shamanism. They suffer from two drawbacks, however. One is a highly
redundant language, exemplified by a sentence like the following: “ The manitou
are special hierophanies in which the individual participates by receiving symbolic
communications from the spirit world ” (p. 64). To a broad audience, it could have
been said somewhat simpler! The other weakness is a tendency to operate with
psychological categories which do not make sense here, such as experiences of de­
privation (which should account for man’s identification with spirits) and states of
possession (which have no place in Ojibway shamanism), the latter for some reason
judged as a deterioration of religion.
In short, this is an interesting and beautifully designed book, describing and in
important respects analysing Ojibway shamanism as the latter emerges from the writ­
ten sources, and with some references to Siberian shamanism. These references are
not particularly indicative, however, and we are left with the question that started
our reading: what are the particular relations between Siberian and American sha­
manism?

NOTE:
1 . It is, indeed, difficult to understand why the author has not consulted, for
instance, the relevant references in the work edited by Vilmos Dioszegi and Mihaly
Hoppal, Shamanism in Siberia (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1978: cf. pp. 52-53,
o2), for an introduction to the historical problems.
Ake Hultkrantz
University of Stockholm
Stockholm

P H IL IP P IN E S
E u g e n io , D am iana L . , com piler and editor. Philippine Folk Literature: An
Anthology. Philippine Folk Literature Series, Vol. I. Diliman, Quezon
City: Folklore Studies Program, College of Arts & Sciences, University
of the Philippines, and The U.P. Folklorists, Inc.: 1982. xv+486pp.,
Bibliography and Index.

This valuable collection contains more than 150 different extended texts and liberal
selections of proverbs and riddles as well. It also has an informative introduction
and a bibliography that will be useful for those who wish to continue their study of
Philippine folk narratives.
“ Extended narrative， ” in this case, refers to myths, epics, legends, folktales and
folksongs. The largest single category in the book is that of epics, or heroic narratives;
this occupies more than 140 pages of the total 48o in the book and is a most welcome
314 B O O K R E V IE W S

chapter, as the heroic epic is one of the most distinctive features of Philippine folklore.
These epics tend to be presented in verse, though some have been rendered in
prose form and some are summarized. All make for enjoyable reading, and give the
reader a sense of a balance that was achieved by the selection of a wide variety of typical
stories.
I f the epics give the reader a feel for something at the core of Philippine folklore,
the myths are doubly interesting for their mixture of typically mythical patterns with
Christian motifs. One is reminded of the extent to which Christianity has been as­
similated into all levels of Philippine culture when one reads, for example, the Ifugao
creation story on pp. 23-25, which is a fascinating mixture of the Adam and Eve tale
with the story of the dying goddess, whose sacrifice enables the creation of grain. The
Ifugao flood myth is also represented, on pp. 38-41, and it, too, is a story of great in­
terest to those whose field is comparative mythology.
A variety of tales is contained in the eighty pages of “ folktales,” including animal
stories, fables and some of the more popular Marchen. As a specialist in East Asian
stories, I read these tales with great interest, for many of the motifs found here are also
evident in Japan and China, and despite the fact that these Marchen are also generally
found in the West, it is easy to see them in an Asian context as well. In this respect
the significance of the Philippines as an Asian country that has adopted a Western
religion so thoroughly is underscored, and one has the feeling that a caretul comparison
of these tales with their counterparts in East Asia would be highly valuable in helping
us come to a better understanding of just what is “Asian ” in world culture.
The folksongs often are accompanied by musical scores, which will be of help
to those who wish to study the music as well as the texts. And, of course, the songs
are also given in their original language in addition to the English translation, so that
their original prosody pattern can be examined.
In all, this is a most impressive and helpful book, one that contains so much dif­
ferent material that it is hard to do it justice in a brief review. The materials presented
here are primarily gleaned from previously published sources, and not direct transmis­
sions of material newly collected from the field, but this certainly does not diminish
the book’s value. Sources are given for all entries, and, when known, information is
also presented about the original narrator. Notes are used sparinelv, but are helpful.
Although I have a few reservations concerning Eugenio’s conceptions of the nar­
rative genres (as expressed in the Introduction), ultimately there is nothing to quarrel
with, for she has made her definitions in order to classify the large amount of material
in her book, and the classifications are followed as they are presented. I f others wish
to reclassify, that is their prerogative, but an anthology of this sort needs some kind of
order, however artifical it might be.
A type and motif index would have been of some help to the folklorist who is
interested in using the book for comparative purposes, but even this request has a
way of seeming unreasonable, given the fact that the book already contains nearly 500
pages (and these are large pages). We are told that the book was prepared mainly for
the average citizen of the Philippines. I am sure it will prove a delight to this “ gen­
eral ’，reader, just as it will be of use to the scholar who wishes to sit down with it and
be introduced to the breadth of Philippine folk tradition.
Damiana L. Eugenio is to be commended for a true service to lovers of tales every­
where. I recommend her work highly.
W. Michael Kelsey
Nagoya, Japan